


Nightmare

by thetrishtalgem



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-17 10:18:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16514471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetrishtalgem/pseuds/thetrishtalgem
Summary: Asra's dreams are often plagued with thoughts of the person he loved dearest and misses the most.





	Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for Asra's Route past Death!

_Asra dug his toes into the sand beneath him as his mind continued to reel. The air around him was dry and hot, making his skin prickle. Everything else around him was shrouded in a pitch black darkness. He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath through his nose to try and calm his racing thoughts. As he inhaled, he picked up the faintest trace of ash, sending a chill down his entire spine. Wherever he was did not omit a good energy. His mind was clearing of any anxiety slowly._

_“..ra!”_

_Immediately his eyes shot open and he scanned the horizon, but nobody was in sight. He passed it off as his own wishful thinking. His magic must have been acting according to his own subconscious again. And while it was sweet to hear that voice once more...he knew better. He knew better than to cling to a false reality. Just as he was about ready to let it go, he could hear the voice ring out once more._

_“..sra!”_

_Ears straining, he listened for the sound of the voice again. His heart began to race as he spun on his heel. With bated breath, he waited until…_

_“Asra! Help me!”_

_The sound of your voice was much clearer now, much closer. His mind was flooded with the worst images of what could be happening to you. Panic in his voice, he called out your name into the darkness, listening to his own voice reverberate against the emptiness._

_“Help me, Asra!”_

_Finally having found the direction you were in, he took off in a sprint. With each pounding footstep, the heat slowly began to grow more and more unbearable. But he could hear your voice in the distance, growing louder with each second that passed, and so he pushed on through the pain._

_“Asra!”_

_He tried to call out to you, but the scent of ash was beginning to slowly suffocate him. In the distance he could see your silhouette standing there, reaching out for him. A smile broke across his face as he called out your name again, drawing ever closer. But as he grew closer, he noticed flames spring up from behind you._

_He called your name, refusing to stop running until he had finally reached you. “Behind you! RUN!”_

_The heat of the flames and smell of sulfur was suffocating him. As he finally drew close enough to see your face, your gazes locked on each other. White eyes staring straight back into red ones. His pace slowed to a skidding halt as he stopped, staring at your malnourished frame in disbelief._

_In that moment of hesitation, the flames sprung up around your body, engulfing you. With a blood-curdling shriek you fell to the ground, clutching at your skin in an attempt to free yourself from the flames. Asra’s eyes went wide in disbelief as he reached forward for you, only for a wall of metal and plate glass to spring up in front of him and separate you._

_“It...burns...Asra...where are you…” you wept, words muffled by the wall that separated you two._

_“No...NO!” he shrieked, banging against the glass with all his might. Tears streamed down his face and blurred his vision as he screamed out your name over and over again. But it was futile. He was forced to watch you fall to the ground, curled up in a ball and withering away to nothing but ash as you called to him._

_“Asra…”_

 

He jolted awake in a cold sweat, feeling his heart racing within his chest. His eyes were wide with panic as his breathing grew heavier and heavier. Something cold slithered up his arm, but he paid it no mind until he heard a soft, sad voice speak.

“Nightmare?”

Glancing down, he noticed that Faust had coiled around his arm. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he put a hand to his forehead as he muttered, “Yeah.”

“Friend?”

Asra was silent. The panic in his chest slowly fell away to a deep sorrow, one like he had never know before. His hand fell from his forehead, gripping at the sheets. He shouldn’t have left you. Maybe it wouldn’t have changed any outcome, but at least you wouldn’t have been alone. Faust tightened her grip around Asra’s arm, slithering up a bit more to brush her head against his jaw.

There simply were no tears for you. He had moved to a grief beyond mourning. Nothing could fill the void that settled into his chest. With a shaky breath Asra stood, feeling Faust settle herself onto his shoulders as he slowly creaked the bedroom door open and trudged through the halls of the castle. As he passed by the staircase to Lucio’s wing, he paused for a moment and looked up the dark, looming staircase.

There was a burning resentment that flowered within his chest. Why did you have to die? You were kinder, gentler, sweeter than anyone else he had ever known. And Lucio was cold, arrogant, and self-absorbed. So why did _he_ get to live? Deep in his heart, he knew there was no true justification to that question. Yet it still angered him to know that such a beautiful soul was gone while a tainted one got to live on.

Biting at the inside of his cheek, Asra turned on his heel and stormed off towards the verandah. He could hear his own heart beginning to pound in his own ears, perfectly in sync with his footsteps. Faust slithered up his arm, wrapping herself around his neck and shoulders and giving him a reassuring squeeze.

He chuckled sadly, “Thanks, Faust.”

“Welcome!” She flicked her tail happily.

His pace slowed as he neared the open archway, the night’s cool breezes blowing inside the palace before he’d even reached the outdoors. He finally stopped, resting his hands on the railing of the balcony overlooking the garden and took a moment to let his breathing even out again. For a moment, he glanced up to the clear night sky. Thousands of stars sparkled back at him. He wondered if you could see him looking up, wherever it was that you might be.

He was vaguely aware of Faust slithering off his shoulders and across the balustrade, slinking her way down into the gardens below. When he looked down, he could see she was moving through the grass in the garden below, heading towards its center. He blinked once, then twice, then shook off his surprise.

“Faust?” he called after her. She stopped, turning her head to look back up at him.

He raised and eyebrow and asked, “Faust, where are you going?”

“Follow!”

She lowered her head, continuing on without waiting to see if Asra would follow. Sighing, Asra descended the stairs of the garden. He was vaguely familiar that Faust was heading towards the center of the garden, but his mind reeled with why she would be taking him there. The sound of running water cut through the silence of the night, and suddenly Asra found himself upon the fountain in the center of the garden. Faust slithered up the base of a large tree trunk, finally stopping to hang from one of its lower branches.

“Faust, what are you-,”

Asra stopped dead in his tracks when another sound cut through the night. Your laughter. His breath hitched in his chest. He listened with a strained ear, hoping that he might catch the sound of you once more. Nothing came to him but the running of the water in the fountain.

Apprehensively, he approached the base of the fountain. He dipped his fingers in the water, feeling the cool sensation course through him. Closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath, he started to think of you. His other hand absently drifted to the small pendant of ashes around his neck - the only thing he had left of you.

When he opened his eyes, he saw your face staring back at him in the water. Every detail about you seemed perfect as you stared back at him, your eyes lit up with...with life.

“Asra...what do you _mean_ you want to run away?” you asked him, your eyebrows furrowing together in confusion.

Asra felt his heart sink into his chest as he responded, “I just...I want to keep you safe.”

“We can’t just run away!” you shouted at him. “There are people _dying_ that we could _help_! And you just want to leave them here!?”

“N-no, I-,”

“Then what…? What is it, Asra?”

The sorrow in your eyes was unbearable. He could see that there were tears threatening to spill down your face.

“I’m staying here. In Vesuvia,” you finally spoke after taking in a shaky breath. “You do what you think is right.”

“I’ll stay with you,” Asra rushed, leaning closer to the water’s edge. “I will follow you wherever you go. I can’t lose you. Not...not again…”

You turned your back on him, walking off into the distance. Asra’s eyes widened as he watched you fade into nothing. Then he was left staring at his own awestruck face in the ripples of the water. His fingers curled into the water as the tears ran down his face. It wasn’t fair. _It wasn’t fair._

He called out your name, listening to his own voice echo through the empty gardens as he fell to his knees. He raked one hand through his hair as the other clutched at your ashes. It was as if he could feel the ash and bone running through his fingers again, burning at the cuts that were no longer there. But he would take that pain over what he felt now if it meant he could have you back.

The thought crossed his mind that perhaps, he would never be beyond tears for you. Not having you with him felt like he was missing half of himself. He sat in the grass, listening to the water run for a moment before chuckling softly to himself. He twisted the tiny urn around his neck in his fingers.

“You would have loved it here. In the garden at night,” he sighed, eyes falling to the big tree that Faust was hanging from. She looked at Asra curiously.

He reached into his pocket, feeling a small knife that Muriel had given him a while ago. His eyes went from the knife in his hand to the tree in front of him. After a moment of contemplation, he stood and walked to the base of the tree trunk. He placed the point of the knife in the bark, chipping away at the wood. Faust watched him as he worked at the wood.

Then she lifted her head in recognition, “Friend!”

Asra took a step back, looking at your name carved into the tree. He couldn’t help but smile a little bit. And for a second, he swore that he could hear you speaking to him from his necklace like the Tarot would speak to him. It wasn’t quite you, but at least it was something of yours. As he looked at your name, it was like he could feel a sense of calm washing over him. It was like he could feel your presence behind him, comforting him.

“Come on, Faust,” Asra yawned, reaching up and letting her slither down his arm. “Let’s try to get some sleep.”

He waited until she settled in on his shoulders, turning one last time to the tree. With a sad smile, he spoke your name, “Good night…”

And ever so faintly as he made his way back into the palace, he heard your voice as a whisper on the wind, “Good night, Asra. I’ll be watching over you…”

**Author's Note:**

> This was just a silly little drabble idea that I got at around 2 in the morning. Worked on it for a couple of days and then posted it to Tumblr! It was pretty well received there, so I figured I'd share it here as well.
> 
> Keep your eyes peeled for a Julian/Apprentice next!


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